text:
Murano is synonymous with glass; its colourful and delicately manufactured items are inimitable and much sought after around the world. Take the water bus (vaporetto) from Piazzale Roma and in 20 minutes you will reach the island where you will be able to visit the furnaces, see glass being manufactured and do a little shopping. But Murano also offers interesting artistic and cultural attractions: don't miss the Cathedral of the Saints Mary and Donato, a splendid example of Romanesque architecture and the Church of St Peter the Martyr.
Burano is only a 30 minute water bus (vaporetto) ride from Piazzale Roma or can be reached directly from the island of Murano; it is the most beautiful island on the Venetian Lagoon. The island is famous for the production of lace (they even have a dedicated museum) and above all for its colourful houses. The different colours had the function of marking out property boundaries, although legend has it that the fishermen used the system for identifying their home from afar.
Located immediately opposite Burano, this small island is a concentration of history, because it was here that the first nucleus of Venice was established, beginning with the ancient Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption with its impressive mosaic of The Last Judgement and the Church of St Fosca. Also not-to-be-missed is the so-called throne of Attila and the Devil's Bridge.
San Giorgio (St George)
Opposite St. Mark's lies the island of St. George, surmounted by the Basilica of the same name with its adjacent monastery. The island can be reached by Route No. 2 of the water bus (vaporetto) service and offers a wonderful view over the city, St. Mark's basin and the Square. The bell tower is most definitely worth visit (€5).
Venice's Lido
The Lido is a quiet island that retains a relaxed atmosphere of charm all year round. It livens up during the summer and especially in September, during the Venice Film Festival. The main reason behind the interest in the Lido is its beaches and its proximity to St Mark's Square which is only 15 minutes away by water bus (vaporetto).

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hope is the thing with feathers
Despite several degrees and years of experience that indicate otherwise, Stephen Mitten, S.J., doesn't think of himself strictly as a scientist. "I see myself more as a naturalist," he says. "I'm an ambassador for the environment."
As spiritual director and resident ecology faculty at Loyola's Retreat and Ecology Campus, Fr. Mitten teaches several biology and conservation courses. But his real love is avian ecology. Last summer, he and student Edgar Perez took a census of the birds and their breeding grounds on the rural campus in Woodstock, Illinois. Perez was an intern at the campus last summer, and will be again this summer, but he and Fr. Mitten have known each other since Fr. Mitten's previous tenure at St. John's Junior College in Belize, where Perez was a student. Now both are here, and both are highly invested in the research and restoration taking place at the Retreat and Ecology Campus.
Although the plant life at the campus had been surveyed and documented, the fauna had been much less so. The parts of an ecosystem are all connected, however, and birds can serve as good indicators of the health of the biological community. The data collected by Perez and Fr. Mitten will provide a baseline for the ongoing restoration of the campus's woodlands and wetlands.
"When we do restoration you may lose some species and may gain others," says Fr. Mitten. "How do we maintain biodiversity while meeting the goals we have for restoration?"
According to the final report, 69 bird species were documented, 40 species were found breeding or holding territories on the campus, and an additional 29 species were detected as flyovers or occasional visitors. The most common species were Red-winged Blackbirds, Gray Catbirds, American Robins, Northern Cardinals, Black capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches, and Brown-headed Cowbirds.
Both Fr. Mitten and Perez have been interested in ornithology and ecology since childhood.
"When I was a kid, I used to ask my dad a lot of questions—what is this, what is that," says Perez. "If he didn't know, I went to find out. I was always curious about the environment. I purchased a bird book myself. I started to look over it and read it and learn the different parts that make a species." Perez eventually became involved with the Audobon Society, and participated in bird counts on the society's behalf in Belize. At St. John's, he was further encouraged by Fr. Mitten's own interest in birds.
Fr. Mitten is a local—he's from Zion, Illinois, and earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. "I wanted to major in biology ever since I stole my Dad's Kodak instamatic camera in fourth grade and set out to take pictures of all the birds in the back yard," he says. "They were all just black specks, because I couldn't really get close enough to get a good photo."
The restoration process at the Retreat and Ecology Campus will take a long time. "The watershed basin has been really altered by past anthropomorphic ditch-digging," Fr. Mitten says. The area was originally drained to create land for cattle grazing. Long-term goals are to remove invasive species like buckthorn and honeysuckle, restore the oak-hickory woodland, and reestablish the fen, a kind of wetland created by the retreat of glaciers.
Fr. Mitten will continue to work toward the restoration and contribute to the new Institute of Environmental Sustainability. He is developing a course in avian ecology, and he teaches a study abroad course in Belize in January. He hopes to instill in his students the idea that local actions can have global consequences. "What I do in Chicago has an impact on whether these tropical ecosystems will be around in the future," Fr. Mitten says. And although he misses the biodiversity of the tropics, he values the particular ecosystems here as well. "Northern Illinois has things the tropics don't. If we don't have a glacier fen, we're deprived," he says. And, like St. Francis (which is Fr. Mitten's middle name), he sees the divine in even the Gray Catbird. "They're all God's creatures—I can't say one is better than the other," he says. "They all reveal the imagination of our Creator."
Perez will spend another year at Loyola, and then he plans to return to Belize and St. John's to develop the environmental science program there. He is also particularly interested in the effects of toxic chemicals, such as pesticides, on biological systems. "Belize doesn't have any ecotoxicologists," he says. "I hope to become the first one." He believes his scientific knowledge carries with it a responsibility to act. "Now that I have the knowledge I was after as a child, I realize there's more to it than that," he says. "I see environmental degradation, pollution, global warming. Hopefully I can do something with this knowledge that will help."
Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Spring 2013).


text:
New global imaging and topographic data from MESSENGER show that the innermost planet has contracted far more than previous estimates. The results are based on a global study of more than 5,900 geological landforms, such as curving cliff-like scarps and wrinkle ridges, that have resulted from the planet's contraction as Mercury cooled. The findings, published online March 16, 2014, in Nature Geoscience, are key to understanding the planet's thermal, tectonic, and volcanic history, and the structure of its unusually large metallic core.
Unlike Earth, with its numerous tectonic plates, Mercury has a single rigid, top rocky layer. Prior to the MESSENGER mission only about 45% of Mercury's surface had been imaged by a spacecraft. Old estimates, based on this non-global coverage, suggested that the planet had contracted radially by about ½ to 2 miles (0.8 to 3 kilometers) substantially less than that indicated by models of the planet's thermal history. Those models predicted a radial contraction of about 3 to 6 miles (5 to 10 kilometers) starting from the late heavy bombardment of the Solar System, which ended about 3.8 billion years ago.
The new results, which are based on the first comprehensive survey of the planet's surface, show that Mercury contracted radially by as much as 4.4 miles (7 kilometers) -- substantially more than the old estimates, but in agreement with the thermal models. Mercury's modern radius is 1,516 miles (2,440 kilometers).
"These new results resolved a decades-old paradox between thermal history models and estimates of Mercury's contraction," remarked lead author of the study, Paul Byrne, a planetary geologist and MESSENGER visiting investigator at Carnegie's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. "Now the history of heat production and loss and global contraction are consistent. Interestingly, our findings are also reminiscent of now-obsolete models for how large-scale geological deformation occurred on Earth when the scientific community thought that Earth only had one tectonic plate. Those models were developed to explain mountain building and tectonic activity in the nineteenth century, before plate tectonics theory."
Byrne and his coauthors identified a much greater number and variety of geological structures on the planet than had been recognized in previous research. They identified 5,934 ridges and scarps attributed to global contraction, which ranged from 5 to 560 miles (9 to 900 kilometers) in length.
The researchers used two complementary techniques to estimate the contraction from their global survey of structures. Although the two estimates of radius change differed by 0.6 to 1 mile (1 to 1.6 kilometers), both were substantially greater than old estimates.
"I became interested in the thermal evolution of Mercury's interior when the Mariner 10 spacecraft sent back images of the planet's great scarps in 1974-75, but the thermal history models predicted much more global contraction than the geologists inferred from the scarps then observed, even correcting for the fact that Mariner 10 imaged less than half of Mercury's surface," noted Sean Solomon, principal investigator of the mission, former director of Carnegie's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, and current director of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. "This discrepancy between theory and observation, a major puzzle for four decades, has finally been resolved. It is wonderfully affirming to see that our theoretical understanding is at last matched by geological evidence."
Story Source:
Materials provided by Carnegie Institution. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Cite This Page:


text:
The directorial debut of Aaron Sorkin, MOLLY'S GAME is the true story of Molly Bloom a smart, young, Olympic- class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe
Irish release date is December 2017.


text:
The Law Office Of Kevin J. Best
Welcome to our website. At the Law Office of Kevin J. Best, the focus is on providing responsive, trustworthy and personalized services to the client. Our mission is to provide effective and comprehensive solutions to the concerns and challenges of each client including individuals, small businesses and governments. This firm's practice areas are primarily limited to municipal law, planning and zoning law, business law, homeowners association law, landlord-tenant law and law relating to real property. With over eight years' experience as a Manager and Director of Legal Services at the Maryland Municipal League, and having served as a municipal attorney and special counsel for several municipalities for almost 20 years, this office is in a unique position to better or more economically serve Maryland's small cities, towns and entities.
The Law Office of Kevin J. Best's founder Kevin J. Best is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, as well as the State and Local Government Law Section of the MSBA, the District of Columbia Bar Association, the Anne Arundel County Bar Association, the Prince George's County Bar Association, the Maryland Municipal Attorneys Association, and the International Municipal Attorneys Association.
Our office is conveniently located in Annapolis, Maryland, near the Anne Arundel County Medical Center and the Annapolis Westfield Mall. Please call us for a consultation to discuss how the Law Office of Kevin J. Best can serve your legal needs.


text:
QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador's highest court authorized same-sex marriage Wednesday in a landmark case seeking to expand LGBT rights in the small South American nation.
The decision by the Constitutional Court came after a lengthy legal battle waged by several couples and gay rights advocates.
With the 5-to-4 ruling, Ecuador joins a handful of Latin American nations — Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia and Uruguay — that have legalized same-sex marriage either through judicial rulings, or less frequently, legislative action.
Plaintiff Efraín Soria told The Associated Press that he would immediately begin planning a wedding with his partner, Xavier Benalcázar, whom he met years ago and has been in a civil union since 2012.
Same-sex unions have been legal in Ecuador for a decade but civil partners enjoy fewer rights than married couples when it comes to inheritance and estate laws. In the ruling, the justices instructed congress to pass legislation ensuring equal treatment for all under the country's marriage law.
The ruling is "a joy for our entire community and Ecuador," said Soria, who is also president of the Ecuadorian Equality Foundation, an LGBT rights group.
A decision by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights affirming that countries should allow same-sex couples the right to marry paved the way for the case.


text:
Facebook has asked Microsoft to remove 41 unofficial and clone 'Facebook' apps from the Windows Phone store as the social network prepares to introduce its official app for the platform.
Windows Phone 7 and 8 launched without a fully featured official Facebook app, but the OS has tight integration with Facebook as contacts and messages are baked in.
Yet with the growth of the Windows Phone platform, the lack of an official Facebook app became evident, and developers tried to plug the gap with their attempts at a Windows Phone Facebook client, some with better results than others.
Now there are more than 40 such unofficial apps in the Windows Phone app store and Facebook wants all of them removed. Why? Well, the social network launched a beta Facebook app for Windows Phone 8 last month, with a version for 7.X in the pipeline, which could mean that a final public version should be ready soon.
Facebook action
Facebook sent a letter to Microsoft this week, Windows Phone Central reports, that claims infringement of its trademark in 41 third-party Facebook apps in the Windows Phone store.
The apps there carry names like Facebook, Facebook* and Facebook++, which can easily confuse users, and one of them is even called Facebook WP8 beta, clearly vying for novice users searching for the official app.
Microsoft has an online systemfor companies to report trademark and copyright infringement in the Windows Phone app store.
The developers targeted by the Facebook letter have been given one business day to remove their app from the store, according to reports.
Presumably if they do not comply, Microsoft will take the apps down.
Windows 8 apps next?
Next on Facebook's hit list could be Windows 8, which also lacks an official Facebook app. Windows 8 has been installed on more than 100 million computers Microsoft said, so there is a demand for a Facebook app for the new interface. This has resulted in numerous third-party apps with names like Facebook Touch, Facebook Now, Facebook Friends, and so on.
Just as with the Windows Phone 8 unofficial apps, these are less-than-stellar efforts, receiving generally adequate ratings by users.
It wouldn't surprise us if the social networking giant also took offense at those apps when it is ready to launch an official Win 8 Facebook app.


text:
Audio and Music Production School in Surrey, British Columbia
We took that old stale classroom concept, rebuilt and upgraded it by putting your classroom in a professional recording studio. Then we emptied out all the other students and left only YOU and YOUR TEACHER (yay for one-on-one learning!) who happens to be a pro music producer (with killer credits) to train you privately (at your pace, full time, part time, nights or weekends available).


text:
Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
The current grading schedule is as follows:
Please note: The above schedules are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances such as heavy rain storms, equipment breakdowns, etc.
Primitive Road
"Primitive Road" is a special designation of public roads established by State Statute Section 28-6706. These roads are substandard dirt roads that have been maintained by the County prior to June 13, 1975. On this date, Arizona counties were granted the authority to establish road construction standards and require that roads opened after this date meet those standards before receiving publicly funded maintenance. Primitive roads are signed as such as a warning to the public of the substandard conditions. This allows the County to perform minimal maintenance with minimal exposure to liability.
One of the most important recurring functions of the Highway Division is to grade dirt roads that are within the maintenance system. Due to the County's extremely dry climate, the roads are often dusty and corrugated. The "wash board" effect cannot be eliminated by "ripping them out" because without the proper moisture content and the appropriate compacting equipment, this would create a larger problem than that which already exists. Also, more frequent dry blading only makes these conditions worse.
This department is committed to maintaining the hundreds of miles of dirt roads within the County to the best of our ability with the funding, equipment and manpower available.
Show All Answers
Funds used to maintain and construct County roads are not derived from property taxes but from State of Arizona allocations of Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF). These funds are collected by the State of Arizona from the gasoline and diesel fuel tax and the vehicle license tax. The State Legislature then distributes these funds to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Arizona cities and counties using a complicated formula. The order of priorities set by the State for distributing HURF is: ADOT, Arizona cities, the two metropolitan counties (Maricopa and Pima) and finally, the thirteen rural counties. The Board of Supervisors, therefore, does not determine the amount of HURF coming into the County each year. However, the Board does control how these funds are spent within the County.
Cochise County is governed by State Statutes as to how public funds are spent on roadways.
If the road in question is not currently in the Cochise County Road Maintenance System and has not been accepted by the Board of Supervisors for maintenance, then the use of HURF funds is governed by Arizona Revised Statute Section 28-6705 which states: "The Board of Supervisors may expend public funds for maintenance of public roads and streets other than legally designated state and county highways located outside the limits of an incorporated city or town. Before expending public funds thereon, such roads or streets shall be laid out, opened and constructed without cost to the county and fully completed in accordance with a plat approved pursuant to Section 11-802 and Section 11-806.1, and in accordance with Standard Engineering Road Specifications adopted by the County Board of Supervisors to insure uniform compliance. Public funds may be expended by the Board of Supervisors for maintenance of public roads and streets laid out, constructed and opened prior to June 13, 1975 even if such roads and streets were not constructed in accordance with subsection "A" of this section.
Public / Private Partnership
Since the County does not have adequate funds to upgrade all County roads, the Board of Supervisors approved Resolution 15-25 (PDF) (Procedures for a Public and Private Partnership for the Improvement of Roads) whereby the users of eligible public roads may enter into a Public/Private Partnership with the County to participate financially in the upgrade of their road from a dirt surface to a chip sealed surface. View the entire packet (PDF). If you are unable to download the resolution or application packet or have questions please our staff at: 520-432-9310 or by email the Highway Division. Our staff will be available to help with questions.
Road Improvement District
Another method provided by State Statute for improving a roadway that does not qualify for public funds is to form a Road Improvement District. The basic requirement for formation of such a district is that a consensus to incur the necessary expenses must be reached by either a majority of the persons owning property or the owners of 51% of the property within the limits of the proposed district. Each parcel will then be assessed an equitable share of the costs on each parcel's tax bill.
We would advise checking with the Cochise County Public Works Department prior to purchasing property in the unincorporated areas of the County to find out the maintenance status of a road. In the meantime, for this information, contact: 520-432-9310 or email the Public Works Department. Unpaved roads are not always smooth and are often slippery when wet. The public will experience an increase in vehicle maintenance costs when regularly traveling on rural County roads.
The County does not repair roads specifically for emergency vehicle access. Unfortunately, the State of Arizona allows land to be developed and access roads to be constructed but does not regulate, inspect or monitor the construction of such roads. This is called "unregulated growth" and most County roads were constructed without review by engineers or flood technicians. Therefore, there are no standards established by the State of Arizona for road development, which would better assure access for emergency vehicles.
Emergency response times for the Sheriff's Department, fire departments, medical care, etc. cannot be guaranteed. Under some extreme conditions, residents may find that emergency response is extremely slow and expensive.
The purchase, installation and maintenance of driveway culverts are the responsibility of the property owner. The Public Works Department does not install, maintain nor clean out driveway culverts.
Please note: The County will only install a driveway culvert during the time of a major reconstruction project on a county maintained road.
Roadside Ditches
Roadside ditches are necessary to convey runoff flows, thereby enabling roadways to remain more passable from adjacent properties. The means of access across roadside ditches must be configured to preserve adequate drainage. Therefore, if a resident desires access to private property via a driveway culvert across roadway ditches within County public, maintained rights-of-way, a County Right-of-Way permit must be completed and submitted to the Cochise County Engineering and Natural Resources Department, along with the appropriate fee, for review.
If the permit is approved and installation is determined to be compatible with existing conditions by the County, including drainage, flow line elevations and maintenance requirements, the resident can then purchase and install a driveway culvert according to the specifications as outlined within the permit.
Culverts Under Roadways
Large culverts under the roadways are the responsibility of this department and are on the maintenance schedule.
A Permit Application for Construction in County Right-of-Way (ROW) must be obtained and approved before work can be done in the right-of-way. This would include public utilities, contractors, and individuals. There is a filing and inspection fee charged to each applicant to assure that the use of the County property is in compliance with permit conditions. There is no permit requirement to work on non-County maintained roadways or easements. Also see ROW Ordinance 035-06 (PDF).
Unpaved roads generate dust. There is nothing the County can do about dust. We sometimes use water when doing major work on our dirt roads, but we just do not have the resources to use water trucks every time a road is graded.
Arizona experiences extreme temperatures with the summer season being the longest of the year. The dry climate encourages rapid evaporation of moisture. The County does not own enough water trucks and does not have funds available to purchase additional water trucks nor the enormous amount of precious water to wet down dirt roads - when evaporation would occur in a very short time. Dust is a fact of life for most rural residents.
During and immediately after thunderstorms, County resources only allow this department to set up barricades, "flood" and "road closed" signs, and to assess damage to County maintained roads. Due to the limited amount of manpower and equipment, this department does not have the ability to repair roadways during a rainstorm nor do we use County equipment to pull stranded motorists from washes. If a motorist chooses to cross a wash that has been signed "Do Not Enter When Flooded", it is the motorist's responsibility to have the vehicle towed. The Public Works Department works in conjunction with officers and dispatchers from the Sheriff's Department to make sure that weather-related signage is installed and properly placed during extreme weather conditions.
Once the weather conditions have improved and the dirt surfaces have begun to dry, this department will begin to repair damaged roadways in a timely and effective manner.
When It Rains
During rainstorms and the subsequent slippery conditions of the roads, we highly recommend the following to the traveling public:
Flash Flooding
Natural disasters, especially flash floods, can destroy roads. Cochise County will repair and maintain only those roads within the maintenance system. A dry creek bed can become a raging torrent and wash out roads, bridges and culverts. Drivers are cautioned to drive at prudent speeds and exercise due caution on dirt roads.
The Board of Supervisors of Cochise County is solely authorized to grant the abandonment of public rights-of-way within the unincorporated areas of Cochise County. The process to have an abandonment request reviewed and submitted to the Board of Supervisors is explained in the Roadway Abandonment Policy and Procedures (PDF). This document also contains an Application Form that must be submitted with any applicable fees. To contact the Right-of-Way Section to discuss the right-of-way you are proposing for abandonment. Email the Highways Division, or call 520-432-9300. You can also write to:Cochise County Public Works Department1415 Melody LaneBuilding FBisbee, AZ 85603
All checks shall be made out to the Cochise County Public Works Department.
County Maintained Road Atlases are computer generated using GIS software. Please contact the Highway and Floodplain Department for the most current Maintained Road System data. Contact our Administration Office for details.
Presently Cochise County maintains 1,441 miles of roads, of which 680 miles are paved and 761 miles are dirt. The paved roads consist of 103 miles of major collectors, 158 miles of minor collectors and 345 miles of local roads and streets. Most of the traffic is carried on the collectors, however, only 77 miles of the collectors are properly surfaced with asphalt concrete. The remaining 154 miles of collectors are dirt roads surfaced with a light coat of petroleum and rock chips commonly called a "chip seal." The un-surfaced dirt roads consist of 619 miles of low volume collectors and local roads and 255 miles of "Primitive Roads", as they are defined in Question 3. There are 2,470 additional miles of sub-standard dirt roads used by the public in the County that are not maintained by the County. Some of these roads are in public rights-of-way and others in private easements.
A quirk of the Arizona State Land Development law allows the construction of roads that do not meet County roadway standards to provide access to land. These sub-standard roads are being created on a continual basis. These roads are not eligible for publicly funded maintenance until they are constructed to County roadway standards, referenced in Question 2.
Citizens can assist us by reporting potentially hazardous road and drainage conditions on County maintained roads to this department. It is important to provide the exact location of the problem (road name and any crossroad, mile post marker, which side of the road, etc.). Also, if a resident has any question or concern, we welcome the opportunity to respond and to assist County citizens with any road and/or drainage related issues.
Main office location and mailing address:Public Works Department1415 Melody LaneBuilding FBisbee, AZ 85603Main Office Phone: 520-432-9310Toll Free Phone: 800-752-3745
Email Public Works Highway Division
To inquire about roadway conditions anywhere in the State of Arizona on State Routes, call the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) toll free at 888-411-7623. Follow the menu options and get additional information about the service. (Updates to information are made every five minutes.)


text:
REVEALED: The rarest £1 coin you must NOT cash in
The 2011 £1 coin, which features Edinburgh, is the rarest to be put into circulation by the Royal Mint.
Recent sales on eBay and other such websites have seen the coin sell for between £15 and £20.
Only 935,000 of these coins were issued back in 2011 - in the context of pound coins this is a very low number and it is notoriously rare to receive one in change.
The coin scores a maximum 100 points on Change Checker's scarcity index.
It is believed the Edinburgh coin will become increasingly difficult to find when, along with all the other old £1 coins, it is taken out of circulation next month. Anyone lucky enough to own one of the coins is advised not to cash in until after it is removed from circulation.
Change Checker calculated that anyone looking for an Edinburgh coin would have to sift through approximately 3,000 £1 coins to find one.
The old £1 coin will be replaced by the new 12 sided coin which was introduced into circulation earlier this year.


text:
Built-in backdoor: German govt warns of significant Windows 8 security danger
Leaked documents from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) indicate that the organization has become suspicious of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) technology built into an increasing number of Windows 8 PCs and tablets.
Documents uncovered and leaked by German news outlet Zeit Online
found that the German Ministry of Economic Affairs was displaying
significant unease with the combined technologies, suggesting the
possibility that a backdoor could be created for further covert
NSA surveillance operations.
The backdoor in question would allow Microsoft to control the
computer remotely. "Trusted Computing," a method developed and
promoted by the Trusted Computing Group, is nothing new - fears
were being aired over its capabilities and potential as early its
founding in 1999.
TPM appeared in 2006 as security technology. However, version 2.0
would implant a chip on every single PC, allowing it to control
which programs could and couldn't be executed because under
Windows 8, there is no override. The users thus basically
surrender control over their computers.
One of the documents retrieved by Zeit Online found that BSI
stated that "unconditional, complete confidence" in
Trusted Computing by stipulations of TPM 2.0 was not possible.
Trusted Computing cultivated specifications for how the chip
would work with operating systems.
Another document from early 2012 mourned the fact that "due to
the loss of full sovereignty over the information technology, the
security objectives of 'confidentiality' and 'integrity' can no
longer be guaranteed."
While not fully clear on the specifics, the documents appear to
indicate that the NSA had some form of representation at the TCG
meetings – during which German officials were also present -
saying that they were in favor of leaving the technology in its
existing state, without any changes being necessary. This
suggests that the NSA does not see TPM 2.0 as hindering its
A Snowden leak from July this year showed how Microsoft worked
hand-in-hand with the United States government in order to allow
federal investigators to bypass encryption mechanisms meant to
protect the privacy of millions.
Penton's Windows IT Pro trade publication pointed out that Zeit
Online "seem[ed] to be using a bit of imagination to connect
the dots and maybe the German government has other ideas."
In a press statement released late Wednesday, the BSI insisted
that "From the perspective of the BSI, the use of Windows 8 in
combination with a TPM 2.0 is accompanied by a loss of control
over the operating system and the hardware used."


text:
It isn't your task as an evangelist to give immediate assurance to people you lead to Christ. The Holy Spirit will do that work: "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16).
There are, however, many promises in Scripture you can share that the Holy Spirit will use to help your newly converted friends gain assurance of their eternal destiny (e.g. John 3:16; 1 John 5:1). Those promises of the gospel offer what is called "objective assurance" to genuine believers. Even a brand-new believer can look to such promises and find a measure of assurance--the thief on the cross gained it when the Lord promised Him a place in paradise.
There are other passages in Scripture that speak of subjective assurance. For example, 1 John 2:3 says, "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments." That assurance will grow and deepen as person walks consistently with the Lord. Should a Christian persist in sin for a time, he will forfeit that aspect of assurance for as long as he grieves the Holy Spirit.
Both the objective and subjective means of assurance are spoken of in Romans 15:4: "Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance [subjective] and the encouragement of the Scriptures [objective] we might have hope." That process is part of the Christian's lifelong spiritual growth.
There's really nothing to gain by giving new converts immediate assurance of salvation. They will realize true assurance through the promises in Scripture and by sensing the Spirit's work--the Holy Spirit will bear witness with their spirit that they are children of God. No formulas can bring about such assurance.


text:
How to Prevent a Common Childhood Foot Problem
NewsUSA) – Parents can prevent one of the most common childhood foot problems by following some simple recommendations. Foot and ankle surgeons say ingrown toenails are a condition they treat frequently in children. Surgeons say many kids hide their ingrown toenails from their parents, even though the condition can cause significant pain. The problem is that ingrown toenails often break the skin. That allows bacteria to enter and cause an infection. Tight shoes, tight socks and incorrect toenail trimming cause most pediatric ingrown toenails, according to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS). In other cases, children may inherit the tendency for nails to curve. FootPhysicians.com provides parents these recommendations: – Make sure children's shoes fit. Shoe width is more important than length. Make sure that the widest part of the shoe matches the widest part of your child's foot. – Teach children how to trim their toenails properly. Trim toenails in a fairly straight line. Don't cut them too short. – Never try to dig out an ingrown toenail or cut it off. These dangerous "bathroom surgeries" carry a high risk for infection. – Have a qualified doctor treat a child's ingrown toenail. A minor surgical procedure can eliminate the pain and often prevent the condition from coming back. A foot and ankle surgeon may prescribe antibiotics if there's an infection. One thing parents can do to reduce their child's pain is to soak the affected foot in room-temperature water. Then gently massage the side of the nail fold. For more information on ingrown toenails in children, visit FootPhysicians.com. |


text:
Your Future in the:
Bible – Tribulation – Rapture – Millennial Kingdom – Heaven – Q&A
Nathan Jones
Evangelist & Web Minister
Lamb & Lion Ministries
Another great GodTube video that provides a visual example of what it might be like when the Rapture happens is "Everyday Life."
[See second video illustration in video above or on GodTube.]
The people were just doing everyday things, as the video is titled. What I particularly like about this wonderful Rapture video is the people's faces when they realize what is happening. Some of them look terrified like, "What is that?" Others, oh, they know what was happening. Isn't it amazing to think that when the Rapture finally happens it will be for some like, "Wow, finally, it is what I've been waiting for all this time!" And, for others, they will be puzzled and wonder, "What's going on?"
Other Resurrections
In previous segments we covered those people who will be resurrected at the Rapture — both the dead and alive in Christ who have lived from Jesus resurrection to the Rapture. But, what about the faithful from the Old Testament? Don't they deserve to be part of the Rapture? Well, the Bible reveals in Daniel 12:1-2 that those Old Testament people who by faith believed in God and then upon Jesus' death had His blood cover their sins, they will be resurrected at the end of the seven year Tribulation. And, for those who die believing in Jesus as their Savior during the Tribulation, they too will be resurrected at the end of the Tribulation.
The Church was created upon Jesus' Resurrection and covers all who accepted Christ up until the day He returns for the Rapture. The Rapture is for the Church alone.
Works While Waiting
We are told to do three things while we wait upon the Lord.
1) Be Watchful
The first is, as we wait on the Lord we need to be watchful. Over and over in scriptures we are told that we need to be watching for the appearance of the Lord. For instance, Jesus in Matthew 24:44 says, "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you don't expect Him." Many are just not expecting Him. Or, later in Matthew 24:42, "Therefore keep watch because you don't know on what day the Lord will come." There are no signs preceding the Rapture to tell us when it will happen, so we have to be watchful.
Another passage that tells us to be watchful is Luke 12:35, "Be dressed ready for service, and keep you lamps burning." Isn't that neat, to be dressed for readiness? Do you all remember back in American History the Minutemen? They were the ones during the Revolutionary War when the British were coming could jump out of bed, get dressed, grab their guns, and be on the battlefield in just a minute.
Isn't it interesting Luke records to keep our lamps burning? Today, we keep the front porch light on when a guest is coming, or your wife is coming home from work, or your uncle is coming to visit, or someone really important. You keep the light on. You are anticipating that somebody is coming. That is what the Bible is sayings here. We need to be watchful. We need to keep an eye out and living expecting that our King will come at any moment.
2) Do Good Works
The second thing that the Lord tells us to do is to do good works. Ephesians 2:10 states, "For we are God's workmanship." We are God's creation. He created us. We were "created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." Have you asked that age old question we hear all the time, "Why am I here? What is my purpose in life?" Isn't it great the Bible tells us what our purpose in life is? It says that while we are here during our brief little lifespan, we are to do good works which God already created for us to do. Somewhere out there before time God created me to tell you about the Rapture. This is one of the works that He has given for me to do, and I praise the Lord for it.
Also, 1 Corinthians 15:58 states, "Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor is not in vain." The hard work we put into serving the Lord and sharing the Gospel with other people — it has a purpose. It's not for no reason. There is a reason for everything the Lord does and sets up, even if we cannot yet see the why or any fruit from our labors.
3) Have Hope
Third, this to me is the most important — we can have hope knowing that Jesus will catch us up, that He will rescue us, from the worst time in human history that is coming soon. While we wait for the blessed hope of the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Titus 2:13 tells us, "Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:13 states, "set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." And, "We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure," as 1 John 3:2-3 encourages.
We gain hope from the Rapture. We can have hope in God. Isn't that amazing? If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are now a child of God. You are part of the big title "the Church," not an individual or a church building or a location, but a generational body of believers who are brothers and sisters in Christ and children of God.
Since you have hope in the Rapture, this means that you are going to beat death. You will avoid the horrors of the Tribulation to come by the Rapture and you will live forever in new bodies in Heaven in perfect love and fellowship with our Savior. Now, if that's not hope, I don't what is.
Grab Hope
So, I ask you, have you taken hold of that hope? Have you asked Jesus to be your Savior? Do you know that God loves you so much that He will rescue you from His wrath, that He will bring you to Heaven with Him, and that He cherishes and loves you? Because, He does. If you haven't accepted Jesus as your Savior, then what are you waiting for? You are probably waiting for something, but it is not worth waiting for, for you could die at any moment. Accept Jesus's gift of salvation and say, "Dear, Lord, please forgive me of my sins and be my Savior." You will be transformed inside and you will have a new life and a much better life to come.


text:
If you're like me or many weight-loss hopefuls who come to us believe that carbs are their worst enemy, we've got some good news. My coach has slapped me upside the head :). You actually should eat some carbs to assist in your weight loss! Yes I said it!!
In fact, opting for quality carbohydrates like whole grains, legumes, fruits and veggies will help you feel satisfied and show off a leaner, more energetic body. Another bonus? Quality carbohydrates actually improve your health. Yipeee!!!
The key to the making sure carbohydrates are your friend is to choose portion-controlled, quality carbohydrates (like the ones mentioned above) that are packed with fiber and nutrients and that aren't processed into a lesser food. Plus be on a carb cycle plan to fight the devil! lol 🙂
Here are six reasons you shouldn't be afraid of all carbs:
1. Hello, energy!
Carbs are the number-one fuel for your brain and for your muscles. Without them, you'll have trouble focusing, you'll feel tired and, when it comes to exercise, your workouts will suffer—you'll feel physically and mentally exhausted.
The fix? Simply have a small portion of a healthy carbohydrate with each meal and snack so that your brain and muscles have a constant supply. For example (the quality carbohydrate and portion suggestion is first in each snack): ½ cup oatmeal and a hardboiled egg; a banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter; an apple and 30 pistachios.
2. They've got fiber.
This means that not only do they help to fill you up for very few calories, but they help to keep you regular and flush waste out of your body.
Looking for a flatter tummy? Fiber helps prevents constipation resulting in fewer bulges in the belly.
3. They boost your mood.
Have a carbohydrate and soon you'll be singing Pharrell's song Happy. That's because carbohydrates boost your body's feel-good chemical, serotonin.
Again, the key is the wholesome, unprocessed carbs—reach for sugar and the Happy boost will be short-lived and quickly followed by a low (a.k.a. "a sugar crash").
4. They make your heart sing.
Quality carbohydrates keep your ticker in good shape. Their phytonutrients help to fight disease as well as protect the heart against damaging free radicals.
Plus, their fiber fights diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Of course leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, citrus fruits, apples and grains like quinoa, oats and brown rice all fit the quality carbohydrate bill, but don't forget about beans (legumes), which are one of the best foods for your heart. Ideas? Black beans, corn, tomato and avocado salad; hummus sandwich with spinach; or a three-bean salad.
5. Carbs can help trim your waistline.
Choose whole grains instead of refined carbohydrates and you actually may reduce your total fat and your belly fat (score!). According to a study published in The Journal of Nutrition, if you can get about three servings of whole grains a day, you'll have about 2.4 percent less body fat and 3.6 percent less belly fat than those people who eat less than a quarter serving of whole grains.
Quality carbs may help your waistline because they help you to feel full longer. Remember to drink water with your meals as the fiber in the carbohydrate will act as a sponge in your stomach, filling you up, making you feel more satisfied and helping to prevent you from overeating.
6. They prevent sugar cravings.
Skip out on energy-providing carbs for your brain and muscles and you'll crave energy. In fact, your brain will crave the quickest pick-up it can get—sugar. An easy way to prevent this is to fuel your brain with quality carbohydrates—those with fiber and nutrients.
But all of this is just advice. You can do whatever the fudge you wanna do!!
Keep growing Strong and making them gainzzzz!!!
Crystal aka Barbell Barbie. NY


text:
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
An Atheist Fantasy? Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" Trilogy
Does there exist such a thing as atheist literature? Other than just the legions of novels in which God is not relevant and hence is not mentioned?
As soon as I heard about Pullman's critically-acclaimed trilogy His Dark Materials -- and heard it billed as a series of atheist fantasy novels -- I was intrigued as to what an atheist fantasy novel might be like, so I immediately went out and got myself copies of the three books and read them.
Boy was I surprised!
This trilogy makes it hit home to me that atheism really is the absence of religion -- not some sort of homogeneous belief system -- since it was essentially the opposite of what I expected.
Just guessing off the top of my head, I would have predicted that a typical atheist fantasy would follow the lines of the "Wizard of Oz," in which the characters think that there is some sort of magic going on until they discover the little man behind the curtain.
This story's premise is that the supernatural legends of the Bible are essentially based on fact, but that in the Great War in Heaven, it turns out that Lucifer and company were the good guys and the only reason we think otherwise is because history is written by the victors.
This idea is kind of interesting theologically. If God is all-powerful, should we just take his word for it that he's all good? After all, a lot of people believe that the God who orders ruthless genocide in the Old Testament is the same God who inspired Matthew to write "By their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:20). I can almost picture believers arriving in the afterlife and having God point out these two parts of the Bible and say, "Look, I spelled it out right here in black and white. And you still believed me that I was the good guy? Hello???"
Aside from that point, if you kind of squint and look sideways at Pullman's premise, he gives a bit of a nod to science and skepticism by positing a sci-fi explanation for magical mysticism involving sentient dark matter. But even so, his magical, mystical universe -- in which shamanistic magic works, consulting the I-Ching yields concrete, factual information, and people's ghosts live on in the underworld when they die -- seems to me like the antithesis of the type of universe I would attach to word "atheist" to.
His treatment of Christian believers is not terribly nuanced -- they're the bad guys, and all either crazed fanatics or cynical power-mongers. Interestingly, he's willing to portray innocent, sincere belief on the part of adherents to tribal religions. Why not? In Pullman's universe, the supernatural powers of such religions actually work, so it's pretty rational.
Theology aside, however, Pullman has written an exciting adventure. Pullman creates a rich array of forces that are alternately competing and forming complex alliances.
It's hard to avoid comparing this series to the Harry Potter series since both focus on a kid raised as an orphan, living in a tradition-steeped British school, and destined by prophecy to perform some crucial act.
Some of the main differences are the following:
Harry's adventures are a little more linear than the adventures of Pullman's principal character Lyra. By that, I mean that while Lyra is the center of the action, she is surrounded by a network of other players whose adventures are vital to the story. The Harry Potter series follows more of the superhero/battling champions model in which essentially all of the important actions are performed by Harry and a small band of characters closely surrounding him.
The situation and motivations of the surrounding players are very well developed in Pullman's series. I particularly liked the scene in the first book of the trilogy in which the gypsy leader has gathered all of the gypsy clans together to convince them to follow him into battle. As he takes questions from the floor, people raise all of the different objections that one would realistically expect his people to be worried about, and he persuades them by taking their concerns seriously and arguing his position in an honest and reasonable manner. It's kind of a surprising scene for a gen-Xer like me -- totally unaccustomed to the idea that a politician might be capable of uttering anything other than snow and spin. It's not unusual in sci-fi/fantasy to have an archetypical "good king" character, but it is unusual to see him roll up his sleeves and get into the nitty-gritty of logistics, and -- what's more -- actually answer to his people directly regarding his decisions.
Another difference is that Pullman not only raises his questions and mysteries little by little, he also answers them little by little, unlike Rowling who tends to set up mysetries gradually in her Harry Potter series and then answer them all at once. I kind of liked Pullman's subtler approach on this -- for a couple of the middle novels in Rowling's series, I was sorely tempted to just skip the climactic battle part and just go straight to the end bit where Dumbledore explains everything.
One weakness to Pullman's series compared to Rowling's however is that Pullman gives his characters essentially no down-time. It's nonstop action, adventure, voyages, battles, and immediate threatening danger. Depending on your tastes, you might see this as a strength. However, I feel it limits the range of characterization possible, i.e. Pullman's characters are defined in terms of their bravery, loyalty, prowess in battle, and almost nothing else. It also means that the novels are deadly serious from start to finish with essentially no humor to vary the mood.
Even so, Pullman does a good job of developing the affectionate relationship between his two main characters Will and Lyra. Still, I feel like the fact that the development of their relationship took place in the context of an incredible nonstop adventure is part of the reason why (possible spoiler warning) it wouldn't have made sense for the author to allow Will and Lyra to live together happily ever after.
After spending the entire getting-to-know-you phase of their relationship rescuing and being rescued from mortal enemies and battling alongside armored bears, could they seriously move on to a life of just doing mundane couple things? Could they sit around and watch a movie together on T.V.? Or fight over who's wasting too much time on the Internet? Or have her pick up some new socks and underwear for him when she goes out shopping? Of course not -- that would be absurd! They battled alongside armored bears together for heaven's sake!
The one last point I found a little confusing was Pullman's treatment of sexuality. If I read the books correctly, it would appear that a big part of the premise is that the dark matter is something of a personification of sexuality and that -- even though the church sees it as evil "original sin" -- in reality it's good and not bad.
I say "it would appear" here because none of this is really stated directly. That's the confusing part. It seems to be something of a mixed message along the lines of "sexuality is not bad, however it is so taboo that it cannot even be mentioned directly and can only be referenced in cryptic circumlocutions."
I assume that the author is trying to keep it clean because it is intended for teens, however, there are a lot of sci-fi/fantasy novels for teens on the market that are a lot more explicit than this, so if he's not capable of talking about sexuality frankly, I kind of wonder why he made it such an important theme in his trilogy.
By my reading, I'm fairly confident that the reader is meant to understand that Will and Lyra have sex in the end, even though it is far from being stated directly. One thing that is really 100% clear, however, is that there is no way they could possibly have had any contraception. Now I know you're saying "Chanson, that is so like you to ruin a tender, romantic moment by worrying about such crude and mundane logistics!" And it's true that it really is a very tender and romantic scene. However, that very attitude of "Let's not mess this up by embarrassing ourselves by openly discussing what we're doing," is exactly the attitude that gets a lot of young people into serious trouble.
I also found it a little sad that Lyra's passage into womanhood is signaled by a new sense of modesty instead of continuing to be comfortable with her body, but I guess that's probably realistic.
All in all, I would say this trilogy is definitely worth reading if you like exciting, nonstop adventure and don't mind a premise where the Christians are the bad guys. But if you're planning to give it to your teenagers, maybe supplement with a Judy Blume book or something to fill in the blanks.
Published in the Utah Valley Monitor April 07, 2006.
37 comments:
- Cyn Bagley said...
Hey... I read Pullman novels about five years ago or so when they first came out. He is a fabulous writer... They were trying to sell it as a young adult series in Germany... but I believe that it is really for adults.
- Rebecca said...
Sounds interesting. I'll have to check them out. I've heard of them, but had no idea what they were about.
- C. L. Hanson said...
Cynthia -- That was my impression as well and essentially that of another review I read, however I got an interesting bit of contrary evidence just the other day.
On Saturday, when I was in the English Bookshop buying Natalie Collins' book, there was an American family ahead of me talking to the bookseller. Among them was a kid who looked maybe 12 who was telling his mom how much he liked this particular trilogy. The mom said that she liked the first one but couldn't follow the other two. So the kid said that she could read them again and he'd explain them to her. :D - 9:20 PM
I'm not sure if the Dust/Dark Matter particles are direct representations of sexuality. Rather, I think they, like sexuality, are a result of coming of age or "growing up." In my mind they represent the creative potential of rational thought. But you're right, Pullman definitely suggests that sexuality is bound up with that whole process. Maybe he's implying that repression of sexuality tends to correspond to the stifling of creativity.
Anyway, thanks so much for your very balanced and thoughtful critique of the books. I'm a big fan of the series and I'm hoping that the forthcoming film adaptation will do it justice.
I'm also a big fan of the Harry Potter books and enjoyed your side-by-side comparison of the two. I agree that the breakneck pace of the last two books skews the character development a bit. But I suppose it's a balancing act between creating a rich narrative and creating a bloated one. Rowling's "Order of the Phoenix" is a prime example of this. "Phoenix" is possibly my favorite in the Potter series for its deliberate pacing and thick description, but many readers find it unwieldy and tedious.
Anyway, time to look through the rest of your blog. :) - 7:27 AM
- C. L. Hanson said...
Hey Seth!!!
You're right that I'm oversimplifying by saying the dark matter is a personification of sexuality. This point is definitely ambiguous.
The main thing that made me connect it with sexuality is the fact that he seemed to be saying that the dark matter is essentially not attracted to children, and there is a particular stage in life (that appears to line up pretty neatly with puberty) when the dark matter arrives to everyone more or less all at once. This lines up better with the acquisition of sexuality than with the acquisition of rational thought or even of other qualities of adulthood and coming of age (which would be more gradual and vary more from one person to the next).
Additionally, the church associates the dark matter with "original sin." My own preferred literary interpretation of the Adam and Eve story would be closer to what you're saying, namely a metaphor for humans having developed an awareness and a capacity for rational thought that other animals don't have. However the book's wink-wink-nudge-nudge references to the particular "temptation" that Eve will face in the garden really looked like he was talking about sex...
Thanks for the compliments and insightful comments!!! - 8:24 AM
- C. L. Hanson said...
p.s. regarding the film version:
I heard a rumor that all of the negative portrayal of religion was going to be cut out of the story. Is there any truth to that? - 8:25 AM
- Cyn Bagley said...
Ah... I had a professor in biology who believed that creativity was really sexuality. He believed that if you suppressed sexuality that you could write better, etc. He felt that if something was really important to you that you would stop have sex while you were doing that project.
chanson wrote:
"...and there is a particular stage in life (that appears to line up pretty neatly with puberty) when the dark matter arrives to everyone more or less all at once."
This also seems connected to the Mormon concept of "age of accountability", but I think 8 years is a preemption by 2-5 years rather than cutting it too close. Better to commit them while they are young and impressionable rather than risling the almost certain failure of waiting until they are truly capable of making a thoughtful, mature-minded, "dark material" type of decision. IOW, before they are truly accountable for their thoughts.
I enjoyed the review. Thanks, CL. I probably won't read the books because I had my fill of fantasy with Orson Scott Card (which I really dug at the time) and now have become not really interested in fantasizing about alternatives to fantasies, if you know what I mean. Though the concept of the fractional host of heaven being right while the majority were wrong rings true to experience...and the Lucifer as object of oppression and conspiracy is intriguing.
Reminds me that I've heard that Lucifer apparently means "light bearer" and I think I recall Carl Sagan saying someting about "deamos" being the Greek equivalent of "Science" or light of learning, which Greek word is also the root of "demon"...which says much about the long conflict between upstanding, moral-majority type religious folk and those evil practitioners of human enlightenment. So I can really see where Pullman gets this idea and that it's not so off the wall as a religiously educated mind might think.
Thanks for cracking-open the door of the mind just a little more. - 2:27 PM
I don't know what the current state of the screenplay is, but yes, I do remember reading something a while back regarding portrayal of the Church. The original director (who has since been replaced), asserted that the Church in "His Dark Materials" is merely a metaphor for any authoritarian repressive establishment. So yes, it seems that the explicitly anti-Christian elements of the story may be toned down, although I can't see how they'll be eliminated altogether. I do hope that the underlying ideas and themes emerge more or less intact.
I thought the Narnia filmmakers handled the religious issue fairly well. They didn't pander to the Christian community by dwelling overmuch on the allegory of Aslan, but neither did they secularize the film. They represented, fairly well I think, Lewis's original intent as a storyteller.
The New Yorker recently published a highly illuminating article on Pullman, which can be found here. - 3:18 PM
From the article that Seth links to:
"Pullman said, shows that "we can learn what's good and what's bad, what's generous and unselfish, what's cruel and mean, from fiction"; there is no need to consult scripture."
...on second thought, maybe I will read this series...with my kids! - 3:29 PM
I would have loved reading this as a kid. I wouldn't have understood many of the themes and metaphors, of course, but the beauty of the books is that they can be read and enjoyed on many levels. And yes, I would definitely call this a highly moral tale.
- C. L. Hanson said...
Cynthia -- Was that biology professor a BYU prof? lol
Seth -- That is so funny, that is exactly the article that made me want to read Pullman's work. In fact, I had never heard of him or his work until I read that article in The New Yorker.
The thing that jumped out at me was his comparison of the themes in his own work versus the themes expressed by Tolkien and Lewis. After that, the clincher for me was this quote:
<< Pullman once told an interviewer, "I am the servant of the story." He added, "The story made me do it. That was what had to happen. If I'd denied it, the story wouldn't have had a tenth of its power." >>
<< In the speech, he speculated on the possible origins of this "very clear and strong" sense he has that there is, inherently, "a right shape and a wrong shape" for any given story. >>
This seems like an obscure point, by it kind of jibes with my own ideas about a story having a natural structure to it. This quote is also part of the reason why -- in my review above -- I jokingly explained why the story obligated Pullman to deny the characters a "happily ever after" ending.
Reading that article I figured I'd probably enjoy these books, and I was right!
As far as the screenplay is concerned, I have to admit that in the first book I kind of got that same sense that there was nothing in the story that really required the oppressive organization to be specifically a church. However, taking the three novels together, I think it would be difficult to do any reasonable retelling of this story with the religious components cut out.
Watt -- Yes, definitely read these with your kids. As Seth points out, they'll get some things reading them as youngsters and other things reading them later. Or, if you don't have time, just buy them and leave them lying around the house, and maybe your kids will read them and explain them to you just like that helpful kid I overheard in the English bookshop the other day. :D
If you're looking alternatives to fantasy (I gather you were hinting above about alternatives to the fantasies promoted by religion), you might enjoy my novel Exmormon. (Indeed maybe you would like to read it and then post about it on your blog!!! ;-) ) It is also a "coming of age" novel and an example of atheist literature, but aside from that, it's stylistically the polar opposite of Pullman's...
This is so cool!!! I've got my usual exmo blog friends discussing literature with a real Pullman fan from Oxford!!! This sort of thing is what I love about the Internet. :D - 10:07 PM
He wrote a short follow-up story called "Lyra's Oxford" which takes place some time after the events of His Dark Materials. Needless to say, it lacks the scope of the novels, but is still a fun little story in its own right. I got it as an audiobook from iTunes. I can highly recommend all the HDM audiobooks by the way. They're narrated by Pullman himself and feature a full cast of actors playing the various roles.
I read the books before I came to Oxford, and it's fun to come across locales that figure in the books. I'm at Trinity College, which is right across the street from Exeter where Pullman studied and after which Jordan College is modelled.
You know, I'm ashamed to admit that I've never read Paradise Lost the whole way through. When I find some free time I'll need to hunker down and give it some thorough attention.
Whew, anyway, I could discuss fantasy literature all day. :) - 2:50 AM
- C. L. Hanson said...
I think they had a copy of "Lyra's Oxford" over at the English bookshop. Maybe I'll go pick it up... :D
- Cyn Bagley said...
Hanson... oh no... it was Dr. Hakym from UMUC European division. Really funny. We liked to talk biology. ;-)
CL, I ordered the first two hardback editions. I like the subversive approach to introducing children to literature that you suggest...:)
And I'll take you up on your challenge to read exMormon then post on it. I'll drop a link when the post is up. - 2:52 PM
- C. L. Hanson said...
Excellent plan, Watt!!!
I am heartily in favor of it... ;-) - 7:36 AM
Took me awhile, but this is me responding to your comment/review.
I feel like one of your main points is that he focuses too much God to be an atheist & that the second main point is about sex. So I'll take them one, two.
I agree that he focuses way on God and, since by the end he does a Nietzsche-esque God-is-dead riff, I can forgive him that. His characters successfully consult the I Ching which is not very conducive to convincing someone that there is nothing out there but us. So, despite his atheist or humanist leanings, I have to agree with you: this book supports spiritualism but not so much atheism. He's stated that he likes to think of the "Church" in his books as being a metaphor for "dogma" of any kind, but I think that argument breaks down when one goes further and reads of the "Republic of Heaven". I'm not even sure what a socialist approach to religion would look like. Terry Prachett has a great explanation of gods: that they grow stronger or weaker depending on the number & strength of their believers. From that kind of a definition, I could look at the Republic of Heaven as being a wish for a god that is more subject to conscious thought than the other way around; but that's an agnostic argument at best.
As someone who came out of a religious background, then, his approach to "atheism" mirrors my own. But it's an imperfect atheism at best and in-name-only atheism at worst. Personally, I feel like I have to believe that there's "something else", but have no problem saying there's no god. This kind of a work-around might work in the context of his universe, but that doesn't make him a better atheist. I'm sure Dawkins could give him a lesson or two about atheism.
With regard to sex: It's very veiled, if there at all. He says they "lay together all night" or something along those lines and that could really mean any number of things. The adult/biblical exegete in me read "lay" as "to know" in the biblical senses. But it may have merely meant that they slept in each others arms, in which case their young love is never consummated. I agree with your disgust at the lack of contraception/discussion of contraception. Part of that I chalked up to the fact that it was "fantasy", but I don't know what I might have thought about it had I read it when I was a kid. I find it pretty disturbing that, if it was sex, it happened at the exact time that they both hit puberty. Yes, that's technically when it's first possible, but one wonders if either of them were prepared for that. In terms of contraception, I partially don't expect to have it in any book (esp. any fiction book) and I partially chalked its lack up to "fantasy", for which I can clearly make many allowances. They don't even have the same kind of soul, are they really going to be able to successfully have children? What kind of soul would their child have...?
I read it also as a children's book, for which I can be okay with a lack of sex as well as a lack of contraceptive information. It's written, in my mind, toward the same kind of age group that reads HP (and I approve of most of your parallels), which could span all sorts of ages but includes very young, precocious children. Now, I cannot use my own experience in sex ed for many things (I lived in a hole for most of my life) and when I was reading at the level where I might have picked this book up, I was waaaaay to early for contraceptive information/discussion. But I was reading books at that time that included some heavy scifi/fantasy sex, some of which included information & some of which did not. Again, I can easily forgive a lot of the "fantasy" genre. I'm not certain where I stand on the issue of contraception in books, but I would probably say that its presence is never worse than its lack. So I can concede to you the point about the sex although I'm not certain yet whether I agree with it.
I loved your review & the discussion that followed, thank you! - 6:23 PM
- C. L. Hanson said...
Hey xJane -- thanks for taking the time to write such an insightful response!!!
I agree with you that Pullman seems like something of a spiritualist, and that that isn't necessarily in conflict with being an atheist. Many Buddhists are atheists, for example. I've learned quite a bit about the range of atheist experience and philosophy since I've taken up reading atheist blogs.
Regarding sexuality, I felt like he gave a lot of strong hints that they had sex: The dark matter that represents "original sin" starts to collect around young people just as they hit puberty. Then there's all this talk about how Lyra will face Eve's temptation and that the physicist/nun would be the serpent that tempts her -- then what the nun does is tell her about romance and sexuality. Then Will and Lyra are making out when the curtain goes down on them, and the next time we see them, they're "no longer children." So I think he's saying that they had sex, but saying it is such a way that if you don't know about sex, you'd have no idea that it was even in there.
I agree that the reason he was so cautious about sex was that this book is for kids/teens and inhabits basically the same space as Harry Potter in that respect. But I just read a very interesting discussion about this here that makes me that much less willing to accept a complete taboo on sexuality for adolescents while allowing plenty of graphic violence. Personally I've always preferred "speculative fiction" that deals more with speculation about how relationships and sexuality might be different in the given fantasy/alien culture, and not at all about the battles.
Again thanks for the interesting discussion points!!! :D - 11:20 PM
- Cultural Enigma said...
I've been reading this blog as my mother is a born again Southern Baptist and is warning EVERYONE not to see the movie...and so on...through a series of inbox email bombs.
So - being the insolent child I am - I researched. THere is indeed an email going around that states that this movie and the trilogy are written by a British Atheist Author who in the end of the book writes that God is killed. That this story was created solely to "kill God in the minds of children".
Hm. I got the audio book and listened for myself. So far I've gone through the first book and don 't think this is the case. I do think that it's a separate view, and I consider myself a believer in God. I don't hate the book. I'll explain why:
1. First and foremost, ITS FICTION. This always makes me laugh. At no time does Harry Potter attend Church, nor does the young Eragon, if I'm not mistaken. But neither does Kay Scarpetta, the main character of a police series from Patricia Cornwell.
Second, if you truly believe - and you have faith and feel you have reared your children the best you can, then you should have trust and faith that they'll make a decision you like no matter what "dark materials" they are presented with. That's absolute proof that you have faith.
Third, if I'm not mistaken - and I"ve only gone through the first book - wasn't this story set in a time where the Church WAS doing things that we would now consider bad? I find I have a hard time with the Church as it is now, in it's "Vatican II" or whatever. I don't like that some old dude in robes who can't marry or have relations with a woman gets to tell me I'm not allowed to use birth control. Back when this was set - the Church was very involved with helping to wipe out history and rewrite it. Would you like an example? The Philippines. There used to be a whole other language written there. I'm quite sure there was a civilization there before the Spaniards got there - and I'm also quite sure there were stories that could have been, should have been, passed down to generations today. Yet I ask anyone in MY family to tell me old stories, myths and such - and no one can remember one. Sad. But they can each tell me who their Catholic School teacher was.
So - I will say that as someone who believes in God - I love this story. My children are getting the benefit of a different view, a different opinion.
I will continue to read them and will even take my children to see the movies.
And everyone who is scared of this bit of literature is a closed minded fool in my opinion. It's not written as fact, it's written as fiction.
Ok, finally off with my dragon and on to church. lol.
Trai - 9:59 AM
- C. L. Hanson said...
Hey Trai!!!
I think that's the right attitude. Personally I wrote about the atheist aspects because that's what I was curious about when I read the books (the author is indeed an atheist according to his interviews). However it is a complex story that can be interpreted various ways. As you see here, I didn't find the story particularly atheistic. The bottom line is that it's fiction, and it's set in a fantasy universe.
I just looked through some picture books the other day of the visuals of the film, and wow, it looks spectacular!!! There are a lot of imaginative fantasy elements in this story that naturally lend themselves to the big screen. - 8:53 AM
My problem with Will and Lyra's sexual liason is their ages. Pullman seems to have a really hard time establishing or sticking to elapsed time (Will spends one night on the mountain when Lyra is abducted, but by the next morning she's been gone for two weeks or more?). As best as I could figure at the time Lyra couldn't have been older than 12 or 13 at the absolute most, and Will was at least 15, which seems kind of problematic.
- C. L. Hanson said...
Hey Anonymous!!!
That is a very good point. I can believe that a fifteen-year-old boy and a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl might be willing and able to have sex, but it does come off as a tad questionable, doesn't it?
That's probably why Pullman was so careful to close the curtains on the scene and pretend he had no idea what was going on... ;^) - 11:38 PM
- Cultural Enigma said...
Dear Lord in Heaven (Yes I meant to put that), I've got that stupid email in my inbox AGAIN. Now I'm going round and round with other so called "Christians" about the faith thing...
*phew* Sorry about that. didn't mean to shout. IT's just aggravating.
Trai - 6:50 AM
- C. L. Hanson said...
Hey Trai!!!
Are you talking about some sort of standard email warning Christians not to see the film? That's too bad. The last thing you need is more spam. ;^) - 6:54 AM
- Cultural Enigma said...
Here ya go:
This is TRUE!! ---Flo
Regarding The Golden Compass
October 31, 2007
Bryan Cutshall
Church Trainer
Regarding The Golden Compass
Yesterday, I was handed a children's book by a staff member who said, 'I think you need to see this.'
The book is published by Scholastic and is part of a collection of books. The book I was given is called The Golden Compass. This children's book is one of the most alarming things I have ever read. What makes it worse is that a movie based on the book premieres in December. Both the book and the movie introduce atheism to children. The story ends with Adam and Eve killing God.
THIS IS A MOVIE THAT WE MUST PROTEST AND OPPOSE AS CHRISTIANS. Please educate yourself on this by checking out the links I have provided below and help me spread the word. Do not remain silent on this issue. This is a time for the family of GOD to stand together.
Dr. Bryan Cutshall
Senior Pastor, Twin Rivers Worship Center
Founder and CEO, Churchtrainer, Inc.
Focus on the Family has several notices written about it. You can click on this link to see one of them: http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000005672.cfm
You can also read more about it below.
I checked this out at snopes.com; unfortunately, it's true... There will be a new children's movie out in December called 'The Golden Compass.' The movie has been described as 'atheism for kids' and is based on the first book of a trilogy entitled 'His Dark Materials' written by Phillip Pullman. Pullman is a militant atheist and secular humanist who despises
C. S. Lewis and the 'Chronicles of Narnia.' His motivation for writing this trilogy was specifically to counteract Lewis' symbolisms of Christ portrayed in the Narnia series.
Clearly, Pullman's main objective is to bash Christianity and promote atheism. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview, 'my books are about killing God.' He has even stated that he wants 'to kill God in the minds of children.' It has been said of Pullman that he is 'the writer the atheists would be praying for, if atheists prayed.'
While 'The Golden Compass' movie itself may seem mild and innocent, the books are a much different story. In the trilogy, a young streetwise girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle to ultimately defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God. Another character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as 'a very powerful and convincing mistake.' In the final book, characters representing Adam and Eve eventually kill God, who at times is called YAHWEH. Each book in the trilogy gets progressively worse regarding Pullman's hatred of Jesus Christ.
'The Golden Compass' is set to premier December 7, during the Christmas season and will probably be heavily advertised. Promoters hope that unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the movie, that they will enjoy the movie, and that the children will want the books for Christmas. Please boycott the movie and the books. Also, pass this information along to everyone you know. This will help to educate parents, so that they will know the agenda of the movie.
The Golden Compass
A movie to avoid
We need to get the word out about this movie -
it is coming out in December - an atheist produced it,
it is marketed for children and in the end they kill God.
Send this to everyone you know.
www.churchtrainer.com - 7:00 AM
- C. L. Hanson said...
Aha, so that explains where all the rumors about Adam and Eve killing God, etc., are coming from. Thanks for the info!!! :D
I read these books for the first time about four years ago, and twice after that, but it wasn't until now that I researched anything about the trilogy on the internet, and I'm really, really surprised that everyone has had a different interpretation of dust than I have. I had thought it was abundantly obvious that dust is supposed to symbolize rational thought, as in the battle of science against religion. Sure the book is filled with magic and imaginary things and spiritualism--but that's all just part of the story, all just symbols and interesting things to imagine and play along with. Lyra is supposed to be the second EVE, and what did Eve do? She bit the apple. She gave us knowledge. She gave us sin, though too. So I guess after reading this and other articles about the trilogy I'm going to expand my view of dust to be the imaginary manifestation of every kind of sin (including sexuality)AND knowledge. And you should too. (Still, though...primarily knowledge.) Also, I totally didn't get that Lyra and Will had sex, yet people keep saying that it was alluded to...oh well. I guess I need to go back and reread that bit.
- Unknown said...
Hey Seth,
Just pointing this out, I pretty much agree with all of your statements about this series. I also agree that Dust, Shadows, Dark Matter, etc. have something to do with sex and sexuality, but Will and Lyra did not have sexual intercourse. Mr. Pullman describes frenching, but no actual sex. Just pointing that out.
PS: Pullman does believe that readers should interpret things themselves, a quality which many good authors have. - 12:19 PM
- C. L. Hanson said...
Hey Sonic and erh!!!
I agree that Pullman left the question of sexuality open and a little ambiguous. A whole lot of readers are confused as to what precisely Pullman meant, which is why this post has been getting a few hits a day lately just on search queries of the form "Do Will and Lyra have sex?"
Yes, it's possible to interpret the dust as symbolizing rational thought. I personally think its even more reasonable to see it as symbolizing sexuality, though, for the reasons I outlined in my response to xJane (a few comments above this one).
It's also true that he didn't come out and say that they had sex. However, I feel like it was strongly implied, and my reasons for thinking that are also outlined in the same paragraph (my comment response to xJane). I think the main reason he didn't state it directly is that he wanted it to go over the heads of children who are too young to know about sex: for them this point is practically invisible.
At the same time it's true that it is possible for the reader to read the scene and conclude that perhaps they didn't have all of sex. Still I think it's very clear that Pullman meant for sexual intercourse to be a possible interpretation of that scene. I don't think one can reasonably argue that he never meant to suggest it to the reader as a possibility. - 3:10 AM
Actually the kids did something even more intimate and explosively taboo than having sex: They touched each other's (physical manifestation of) "souls". In the girl's more fantasy-like universe every person has a "daemon", a small critter companion for life who is never more than few feet away from you (unless you are a witch). If you die, your daemon dies immediately. And it is an absolute sacrosanct taboo -- greater than incest, cannibalism, necrophilia, or anything else in our culture -- to touch another person's daemon. Completely unthinkable; would never even occur to you to imagine it. But the novel says that during their romantic time under the tree, they stroked/petted each other's cat-like daemons. Almost certainly the only two people in the multiverse ever do so. Having sex would be quaint in comparison. I don't know how to indent so I'll do another post if you are interested in more.
To continue from above: Virtually no one in the multiverse knows what would even happen if you kill another person's daemon directly. It turns out only prepubescent children can physically survive the horror, and they end up as a lobotimized quasi-zombies with no will of their own or any capacity for independent thought. The evil church-like organization in the girl's universe is kidnapping children "who won't be missed" (such as gypsies) and killing their daemons with a guillotine-like device to create obedient followers and to harness the energy created. The trilogy is engrossing, humane, and as easy to read as C.S. Lewis, but it's safe to say it's awfully "controversial" for a US audience.
- Carla Schmidt Holloway said...
I thought about reading them, but I heard this one quote that totally turned me off, that Pullman wanted to murder God in the minds of children. Might not even be true, but I just decided then not to read them. Not because I think I should only read pro-Christian literature or some nonsense like that, but that kind of hostility toward any belief system is just not something I feel warrants attention, for me personally.
- C. L. Hanson said...
Hey Carla!!!
It's true that's an off-putting remark. I'm not sure what he meant by it. - 12:56 AM
- Joy Hill said...
So, technically, Dust/Dark Matter is what is created when matter becomes aware of itself. So, yes, sexuality is part of that, but so is contemplation, debate, intellectual discussion, etc.
- solerso said...
The common,but of course not universal, Atheist faith in technology, in "progress" (for example Atheists frequently conflate "progress" and "evolution") is actually a machine fantasy, and as such, should be thought of as a belief system. Atheism per se is not. I believe modern Atheism is a cynical response to a culture which is no longer functioning, much as late Medieval Diabolism and "Satanism" was.
- solerso said...
The common,but of course not universal, Atheist faith in technology, in "progress" (for example Atheists frequently conflate "progress" and "evolution") is actually a machine fantasy, and as such, should be thought of as a belief system. Atheism per se is not. I believe modern Atheism is a cynical response to a culture which is no longer functioning, much as late Medieval Diabolism and "Satanism" was.


text:
Paul Goble
Staunton, June 7 – In a startling demonstration of the spread of new technologies to the North Caucasus, the leaders of the Salafi trend in Islam in Daghestan, one at odds with the dominant Sufi trend there and often associated with political radicalism, used the flashmob technique to bring 5,000 young people into the streets of Makhachaka last week.
In reporting on this event, which was staged in order to demonstrate to visitors from Moscow that people in that republic are not going to sit still for the current situation there much longer, the Islamic Civilization web portal said that this "Islamist flashmob can be called an historic event for Daghestan" (http://www.islamcivil.ru/article.php?aid=647).
"For the first time," the portal said, "Muslim youth have expressed their unambiguous protest to that disorder which characterizes the republic regarding human rights and civic freedoms" and their support for the Salafis who stand against the dominant Sufi trend of Islam in Daghestan.
According to the organizers, the site continued, "they did not have any certainty that even 1,000 people would come" when they issued their flashmob call. "But no fewer than 5,000 did," an outcome which shows the flashmob technique works even in relatively backward Daghestan and that Salafi Islam can assemble more than trade unions, United Russia or other groups.
This is such a breakthrough event that it is worth recounting in some detail. During the morning of June 1, young people began to assemble on Makhachkala's Rodop boulevard. Many people were out because it was the Day of the Defense of Children. But "the Salafi youth decided," the portal says, "to stage a certain flashmob."
"Among the people were not evident followers of the other bloc, tariqat Islam," an indication that this was a Salafi enterprise. When about 3,000 had assembled, the crowd moved up Gamzatov prospect toward the National Library where the Russian President's Council on the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights was meeting.
According to Daghestani officials, "the Salafis who had assembled at the National Library did not have the right to meet and hence to speak and display placards." The crowd remained largely silent at the urging of their leader Abbas Kebedov, the leader of the Salafii organization Aklu-s-Sunna val-Jamaa, who asked that they not "give in to provocations."
At that time, a column of interior ministry OMON troops from the Urals approached. Some in the Salafi crowd then shouted "Allah Akbar," and the militia formed a defense line apparently fearful of what might happen. If anyone had shot at that moment, there could have been a disaster.
But what happened instead was this: the militia asked the crowd to move away from the National Library, and the Salafi leaders led the group to the Salafi mosque on Kotrov Street." The crowd moved toward the mosque," gathering others on the way with "some taking pictures of the march on their mobile telephones."
After prayers at the mosque, Kebedov arrived along with other Salafi activists. He called on the young people to "preserve" their peaceful approach, "to remain in the mosque and not in any case to go to the forum at the library building," given that the OMON had brought up armored vehicles.
The Daghestani authorities, Kebedov told the crowd, "do not want a resolution to the difficult situation which exists in the republic." The only hope therefore is on "delegates from Moscow." But he continued, "this is our victory; today we have been able to do this." His speech was "accompanied by shouts of 'Allah Akbar!'"
The visitors from Moscow "did not come to the mosque as had been decided earlier; insteadof this, five representatives of the Salafi community were delegated to meet with them." The Salafi representatives were chosen and accompanied Kebedov and others to the forum. According to the Islamic Civilization report, there took place "a sharp and open conversation."
"Today," the Salafi representatives said, "five thousand people assembled. Today, they stood peacefully; tomorrow, if nothing is done to stop the situation in Daghestan with kidnappings and murders of innocent people, nothing will stop these young men." According to the portal, "this monologue, it was clear, had an impact on the guests."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)


text:
IYA2009 News Round-up
19 December 2009
It's still IYA2009, which means that it's news round-up time. Hoooo-rah!
Story of the Week must surely go to Physics World's feature on Pakistani astronomers. Written by the president of the Khwarizmi Science Society, it looks at how IYA2009 events have boosted the public's interest. We shouldn't be surprised, given that they built a roving observatory to go to rural schools. That'd spark anyone's interest. Apparently "...older people were particularly delighted as they were shown various stellar constellations that matched their horoscopes." Hmm!
Why is astronomy so great? Big numbers, nice pictures. Bad Astronomy at Discover Blogs is going down this second route with its article on the top ten astronomy pictures of 2009. They are all corkers.
Fancy a laugh? Give the Science Comedian Brian Malow a chance, courtesy of Fora.tv. He mentions IYA2009 (to a bit of a cheer), and also talks about the Cosmic Diary's very own Brother Guy.
To Yahoo! now, for their 2009 Year in Review article. IYA2009 has prompted them to make it an astronomy-inspired feature which talks about meteor showers, Galileo, NASA, and the upcoming Blue Moon. Plenty of hyperlinks are scattered around the text, should your insatiable curiosity get the better of you.
Attention astrophotographers! Actually, attention Indian astrophotographers! You should run over to The Times of India who are advertising a competition to mark the end of IYA2009. Called "Snap the vibrant universe", some entries will be displayed in an exhibition and it sounds like there will be awards. Although it's a bit vague on that point. Fingers crossed.
This one is a bit different. The Gilroy Dispatch have written a seasonal article about the connections between Christmas and astronomy. Apparently "It goes far beyond the Gospel of Matthew's Nativity star." There are 11 paragraphs and IYA2009 is mentioned in number three, which isn't bad going.
Let's pay a visit to AlphaGalileo who have a news release about events marking IYA2009's end. The biggie is astronomers an archaeologists celebrating five millennia of astronomical heritage at Stonehenge in the UK. IYA2009 UK chair Ian Robson is involved, giving tours and things. Oh, and From Earth To The Universe have an exhibition there as well. Nice!
That's it. You'll miss these news round-ups when they're over, won't you? Your silence is taken as a "yes".
Search IYA2009 Updates
National Nodes: 148
Organisational Nodes: 40
Organisational Associates:33
National Websites: 111
Cornerstone Projects: 12
Special Task Groups: 11
Special Projects:16
Official Products:8
Media Partners:22